As Pima Community College is starting to have some success turning its image around, its lead PR guy is stepping down.

C.J. Karamargin came to the college in 2011, working at Pima for three and half challenging years. When he joined the college, Pima was still facing some criticism from how it handled warning signs from former student and clearly mentally ill human Jared Loughner, and heat was just building towards the college's short lived remedial education standards. Since then, the college has had to keep its head up through probation, petitions to recall the governing board and harsh allegations against former top administrators. 

Karamargin is leaving to take a job as District Director for newly elected U.S. Rep. Martha McSally. Prior to working at Pima, Karamargin was communications director for then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

"It is humbling that she has entrusted me with the responsibility to serve as her District Director," Karamargin said in a release after his new job was announced. "I consider it a privilege to be able to help the congresswoman make a positive difference in the lives of the people who sent her to Washington." 

And while Karamargin has not shied away from calling his time at Pima challenging, he seems to think the college was worth the effort, saying, "I know from my own experience that community colleges can play a transformative role in a person’s life. Pima is no different. It has been extraordinarily satisfying to be part of an institution that can have such a profound impact. Hopefully, through my work in the Public Information Office and with my colleagues, I’ve helped remind the community we serve that this college is a precious resource worthy of their support."

Here's hoping whoever fills the position has less controversy to deal with. Or, as Karamargin put it, "all the best for a productive, probation-free 2015. "

Thursday, the Senate Education Committee is scheduled to look at SB1029, a bill that would require a civics test for high school graduation. And not just any civics test. The same test that's given to people who want to become U.S. citizens.

The good news is, it's not a completely terrible idea. The bad news is, it's not a very good idea. The educational value of having high school students memorize 100 facts about the U.S. government, then successfully regurgitate 60 of those answers on a test, is questionable. And the idea that students who have completed all their required high school coursework successfully would be denied a diploma because they come up short on a civics memorization test is pretty ridiculous.

The civics test given to prospective citizens isn't a test of their broad knowledge of American history and government. It's 10 questions pulled from a list of 100 questions they're given to study and memorize. Six right answers out of ten and they pass. It's probably a worthwhile exercise for new citizens, but for high school students? As a graduation requirement?

If the bill passes, Arizona students will have to answer 60 of the 100 questions correctly to graduate high school or get a G.E.D. If they don't pass the first time, they can take the test again, and again, and again, until they do. Each school board will decide how the test will be administered.

What's going to happen is lots of students will get less than the required 60 right answers the first time around. Teachers, or someone, will have to keep giving the test to students, again and again and again. I suppose it can be given to students in clusters of 10 questions so they don't need to have all 60 answers in their heads at one time — if the local school board decides that's OK, that is. I suppose a missed question can be asked again and again and again until the student gets the right answer. Since it's a graduation requirement, some kind of  time consuming work-around will have to be created to get everyone to pass. In our underfunded, understaffed schools with too many students in each class, here's an added mandatory, unfunded mandate of questionable educational value.

Six other states are looking at requiring the test: Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. It's the brainchild of the Joe Foss Institute in Scottsdale, AZ.

Tucson Unified School District students Maya Arce, Korina Lopez and Nicolas Dominguez are in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today to tell the judge why A.R.S § 15-112 is a violation of the First Amendment, the right to equal protection and simply too damn vague to stipulate what is right and what is wrong with TUSD's classes from a Mexican American perspective.

The lawsuit challenging ex-Gov. Jan Brewer's 2010 statute, which prohibits courses or classes that "promote the overthrow of the United States government, promotes resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of treatment of pupils as individuals," was originally filed by a group of teachers and students after the law caused TUSD to eliminate its Mexican American studies program and ban books highlighting Mexican American history and ideologies.

At the time, the state threatened to cut TUSD's funding if the district didn't comply with getting rid of the program, so the board had no choice but to scratch it and resurrect it in the form of its culturally relevant curriculum. (The content of that curriculum is protected by the Desegregation and Unitary Status Plan).

TUSD is once again under "we will cut your budget even more than we already have" threats over allegations that some of its English and U.S. history from a Mexican American and African American perspective classes violate the law. If they don't fix this by March, the district could lose 10 percent of monthly state aid.

If the 9th Circuit rules A.R.S § 15-112 is unconstitutional—which now that the students are the primary voice in the suit, it gives challengers of the law a glimpse of hope—then the accusations would be useless. But, TUSD has now less than 60 days to comply with whatever Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas orders. She's going after the way the culturally relevant content is "implemented in the classroom," meaning she wants full control of how teachers deliver their material.

As TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez put it at a press conference last week, "until that case is done, the law is the law." And it's looking like the 9th Circuit case won't see a resolution for a few months.

You can hear the arguments of today's hearing here starting tomorrow afternoon.

I know some people who support the ethnic studies programs at TUSD are cautiously optimistic about Education Superindent Diane Douglas' statements concerning the current Culturally Relevant Curriculum. I know Superintendent H.T. Sanchez has expressed hope he can work things out with Douglas. Me, I'm far from optimistic.

The one promising thing Douglas said is that she accepts the curriculum TUSD wrote for its ethnic studies courses, something Huppenthal wasn't willing to say. But that only means she interprets the words in the curriculum documents in a way that she can accept. When she sees how it's being implemented in the classroom, however, that doesn't fit her reading of the curriculum, and she says it needs to change.

“If we continue to work together and (TUSD) Superintendent (H.T) Sanchez remains committed to correcting and supervising the implementation of the approved curricula, then we can avoid having to impose penalties on TUSD,” Douglas said.

The question is, what will she decide is appropriate implementation of the curriculum?

Douglas says she's OK with the use of music in the classrooms. That means absolutely nothing. Is she OK with the song by Rage Against The Machine that Huppenthal criticized? She doesn't say. It's possible her idea of using music in the classroom is playing mariachi music and "negro spirituals" as examples of Hispanic and African American culture, but all those angry songs that stir up resentment are inappropriate.

If you're looking to snag a deal on a new guitar, parts, or cases, Doc Hudson Guitars is moving locations soon, but before they do, they're trying to offload as much inventory as possible.

Here's what Doc Hudson said about the move and sale via Facebook:

Due to a number of factors, we are moving to a new location. We'd rather sell what is in The Shop at considerable savings to the client than have to move it to the new location, so, Tomorrow [Saturday, Jan. 10] Sunday [Jan. 9], and all the following week we are having a relocation/sidewalk sale. Great Deals to be had on a variety of items including Guitars, cases, leatherwork, fixtures, storage cabinets, parts, instruments, accessories, etc. 

Doc Hudson's current location is at 509A South Fourth Avenue. Happy hunting, gear heads.

Zona Politics Eps.13 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.

On this week's episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: State Rep. Bruce Wheeler and state Sen. Steve Farley stop by the set to talk about the upcoming legislative session. They talk about the budget shortfall (with Farley sharing a rumor that he's heard that GOP leaders may try to zero out university spending completely to solve the state's financial crisis); whether the state will roll back the Medicaid expansion that provided health insurance to hundreds of thousands of low-income Arizonans; whether the new Department of Child Safety has the resources to keep kids safe; the struggle to send more transportation dollars to cities and counties; and a whole bunch more. Watch it online here or tune in Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. on KGUN-9.

January is rushing by already so before you know it, it'll be time for Dillinger Days. On Jan. 23 and 24, the outlaw celebration will commence at Hotel Congress, bringing reenactments, live music, and a heavy dose of history to downtown Tucson.

However, the event's kick-off function will be a 1930s-inspired speakeasy party at the hotel. With themed bites from Cup Cafe and a steady flow of Whiskey del Bac and special Borderlands brews, as well as a cigar lounge, the event will attempt to transport guests to Dillinger's time. In terms of entertainment, a photo booth, vintage car and magic shows, and live music courtesy of Kings of Pleasure and Desert Melodies will keep attendees busy between the booze. 

The speakeasy will start at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23. Tickets can be bought online in advance for $25 with the proceeds going to the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. 

Of course, that's not all that's in store for Dillinger Days this year. The following day at Hotel Congress will be jam-packed with historical skits, tours, and lectures as well as art, live music, and a beer garden featuring local beer. All of that and more will take place on Saturday, Jan. 24 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and it is free to attend.

Here's some footage from past Dillinger Days festivities in case you're a first-timer:

Tucson Unified School District and City of Tucson representatives, among them Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, went door-to-door this morning to visit more than 300 kids, who have dropped out of school, hoping to persuade them to go back to school.

The two, alongside 46 pairs of volunteers, were out on the streets from 8 a.m. until noon for the second Steps to Success walk.

From a TUSD press release:

The first Steps to Success walk, held in July, visited more than 450 homes and brought 171 children back to school. Sixteen of those have already earned their high school diplomas and received them at Winter Commencement.

“We owe it to our students who have lost hope, who have slipped through our fingers, to reach out and help them find their way back to earning a high school education,” Dr. Sanchez said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit more families and meet more young people who need encouragement and who need someone to show them the possibilities.”

“Students need to know the community cares about their success,” said Mayor Rothschild. “Having volunteers come to your door, with staff, ready to get you back on track and enrolled in school, is huge. I’m very happy to participate in this second Steps to Success walk, and I look forward to participating in many more.”

Eugene Butler, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, says the initiative is about reclaiming Tucson’s children and being the inspiration that might help them return to a successful path.

TUSD has set up a Success Center on the Catalina High School campus, 3645 E. Pima Street, for students who wish to get information and assistance in completing their high school education. The hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It has been proven that Mexican-American Studies and similar programs to it, in addition to the method to teach these classes, have helped the dropout rate among many demographics, as looked into by this 2012 report from the UA. Something to keep in mind as the district tries to fix its relationship with state education officials over the allegedly-in-violation-of-state-law culturally relevant curriculum.

You know when you go to a show and all of the planets seem to align. The band is having fun, the sound is dialed in, and the crowd actually cares. That shouldn't be as much of a rarity as it is, but, hey, as long as it still happens sometimes, I'm happy.

Anyways, last night's King Tuff show at Flycatcher was one such instance. The Sub Pop/Burger Records act is known for a seemingly contradictory blend of garage rock with a heavy dose of pop viability that caused Tuff to get some attention with the 2014 release of "Black Moon Spell." Lyrically, King Tuff music isn't concerned with complexity or depth—it's all about cheap hooks and having fun (in a good way).

Knowing that, it was actually really exciting to see frontman Kyle Thomas perform and subsequently blow away everything I thought the show would be. While I expected some solid head bobbing, butt shaking good times, Thomas' ability to bang out complicated licks between those catchy hooks took the show to another level. 

The set list prominently featured songs off the new album like "Headbanger," "Beautiful Thing," and "Black Moon Spell." While a small group in front of the stage seemed to know the words to every song, the rest of the crowd still danced along unprovoked. 


Several times throughout the set, bassist Magic Jake remarked on the crowd's participation, and it was pretty obvious the band was feeding off the energy in the room set in motion by The Rat and local opener Katterwaul. Not to worry if you missed last night's show though because the band has played the venue before when it was Plush and with response like that I have a feeling they'll be back again.

Diane Douglas, Arizona's new Superintendent of Public Instruction, met with Tucson Unified School District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez on Wednesday to talk about the future of the district in light of the
notice of noncompliance the district received late last week.

Douglas says she supports the Department of Education's finding that the TUSD is currently in violation of A.R.S. §15-112, a state statute that gives schools parameters for teaching ethnic studies. 

“It is important to correct the misunderstanding that Arizona Department of Education is opposed to ethnic studies," Douglas said in a press release. “If any child educated in Arizona is not exposed to the suffering, trials and triumphs of all ethnic groups who have contributed to our state’s rich cultural mix, then we are failing to teach accurate history.”

The release went on to say that while Arizona Department of Education is satisfied with the curricula for ethnic studies developed by TUSD, they have documentation showing the curricula have not been properly implemented in the classroom. These deviations from the curricula are what the department says violate the state law—although it did not say what the deviations are.

Coming out of their meeting, Douglas and Sanchez agreed to a plan of action to ensure that the curricula are taught correctly and in accordance with statute in the individual classrooms.

“I am pleased with the new opportunity to work together with Superintendent Douglas to resolve this issue. I was excited to be invited to work on a Latino Advisory Committee to suggest standards and curricula to include Latino history for all children in Arizona,” Sanchez was quoted as saying in Douglas' press release. “The offer to work hand-in-hand to make specific changes in classroom instruction to encourage critical thinking is certainly something I can support.”